Collection: Oolong tea

We also have rare examples from Assam, Darjeeling, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand and Tanzania.

Oolong can vary between 20 and 80% oxidation. Therefore they have a character between green teas and black teas. Oolong is picked when the leaves are larger. They have a fresh, sophisticated taste smoother than black teas yet less grassy than green teas.

They are best drunk without milk. Low-grown Formosa oolongs from Ali Shan in Taiwan are still considered to be the most subtle, generally being oxidised longer than Chinese oolongs (60% compared with about 20%).

Small independent gardens produce them in the traditional hand-made way. Make oolong with freshly drawn and boiled water that has come off the boil. Formosa also produces Pouchong, a unique oolong variant.

China oolong tea is high-grown, the bushes growing wild amongst the cloud enveloped, rocky limestone crags, the minerals and nutrients giving their teas diverse and unrivalled character.

In China’s tea culture Wuyi Shan is known as one of the ‘routes of tea enlightenment’. China produces such specialities as orange blossom oolong tea.

OOLONG TEA INSIGHT: Oolong Tea. Character: Complex, light, herbaceous. Definition: semi-oxidised teas. Appearance: burnt umber to deep green. Closed or open leaf styles. From: China and Taiwan (Formosa). Examples from China: Iron Ti Guan Yin Goddess of Mercy, Monkey Picked. Tend to be rolled and greener (less oxidised). Examples from Taiwan: Dong Ding, Jade. Tend to be darker and open or closed leaf styles. Making: Freshly boiled water that has cooled 1 min.